International health, also called
geographic medicine or
global health, is a field of
health care, usually with a public health emphasis, dealing with health across regional or national boundaries. One subset of international medicine,
travel medicine, prepares travelers with immunizations, prophylactic medications, preventive techniques such as bednets and residual pesticides, in-transit care, and post-travel care for exotic illnesses. International health, however, more often refers to health personnel or organizations from one area or nation providing direct health care, or health sector development, in another area or nation. It is this sense of the term that is explained here. More recently,
public health experts have become interested in global processes that impact on human health.
Globalization and health, for example, illustrates the complex and changing sociological environment within which the determinants of
health and
disease express themselves.